Book launch: Tart it Up!

Tart it Up! is the latest offering from dessert legend and pâtissier extraordinaire Eric Lanlard, and this time he's turned his attentions to pies, flans and, that's right, tarts.

The cookbook contains a whole section dedicated to explaining the secrets behind perfect pastry, as well as a selection of quick bakes using ready-roll pastry for busy days.

We're most excited about the dessert tart section, though, which is filled with such treats as Exotic Fruit Meringue Crumble Pie and Apricot, Honey and Pistachio Tart. They don't call him Cake Boy for nothing, you know.

Wordless Wednesdays ... taking a break

From Máni Katz.

Reusable paper towels

Okay, this is not glamorous, but it deserves a mention because it's such a simple but great idea. Everyone's used to recycling their kitchen plastics and composting their leftovers, but we'd never even thought of buying reusable kitchen towels.

Athena Creates' Bird-E Towels (or unpaper towels, as they're affectionately known), are one way to make our homes a little greener. You can keep a stack of these in your kitchen, then pop 'em in the washing machine after you've used them, ready for the next lot of slips and spills. Click over to Etsy shop Athena Creates to find out more.

Roasted strawberry and coconut milk lollies

Wow. When we found this recipe for roasted strawberry and coconut milk lollies we were instantly smitten.

A little while ago, Sprouted Kitchen taught us how to make roasted strawberry ice cream. Kimberley from The Year in Food has gone one better and come up with a lolly version (or popsicle, if you'd rather), which eliminates the washing up and means we can eat these pretty much anywhere. Which is what we're planning on doing.

Whichever version we choose, we predict this recipe will be featuring heavily in our freezers this summer.

Geometric gift box tutorial

The sky is blue, the sun is shining and the schools have broken up. It can only mean one thing - wedding season is upon us once more. We've just fallen for this wedding favour box DIY.

The gurus at HeyLook created a little range of geometric favour boxes for Ruffled, which can be created from the templates provided.

Is it just us, or are regular gift boxes looking terribly old-fashioned all of a sudden? We can't imagine making a whole wedding party's worth, but we think for a special gift these are definitely worth the effort.

Tea tips

Apparently, tea is the world's second favourite beverage, after water. It seems that we are not alone is our love of this wonderful drink.

Helpfully, Utility Journal has produced a Tea Tip sheet as a mini-guide. Have you ever wondered about the perfect brewing time? Or if loose leaf is better than tea bags? No? Well, we take tea drinking very seriously. Pop over to Utility Journal get some answers anyway.

How to start seeds in eggshells

As hobbies go, gardening is pretty eco-friendly, but the little trick of starting seeds in eggshells is even more impressively so. Once you're done, plants go into the soil, egg box goes into the recycling and eggshells go for compost. Chances are, you won't have to buy anything special to get started, either!

This technique is ideal if you only have a little space to work with, because it'll tuck neatly onto your windowsill. Pop over to gardening blog Garden Betty to find out exactly how it's done, plus tricks and tips on what to grow.

Book launch: Book of Organisation

Nosing into people's creative spaces is like having a tiny window into their minds, and Jo Packham has provided us with just that in her new book, Where Women Create: Book of Organisation. Jo has charmed her way into the studios of artists of all types, from fashion designers to doll makers (including, confusingly, men) and invited them to share their thoughts and tips on the spaces that get their creative juices flowing.

Not so much a how-to guide as an inspirational scrapbook, Book of Organisation may not help you transform your messy workspace into a haven of tranquillity, but it's fascinating nonetheless. Click over toWWC Press for a sneak peek inside, or check out Jo's Where Women Create site for more arty loveliness.

Wordless Wednesdays ... dawn explorers

By Jacinta Moore at Bawk Bawk Bawk.

Rosemary olive oil cake

We're always up for sampling unusual flavour pairings. How else are we supposed to find new favourites? This recipe for rosemary and chocolate olive oil cake from The Flour Sack definitely falls into the 'experimental' category, and we can't wait to try it out.

Baker Brooke says that this is the perfect snack cake. We always like to have a home-made cake tucked away in a tin ready for any unexpectected visitors or a nibble with a cup of tea in the afternoon, and this recipe has us sorted for this week.

Upcycled chests of drawers round-up

Ever since we blogged about furniture upcycling company Out of the Dark last week, we've been noticing loads of cool and creative ideas for renovating old furniture all over the net. Here's a mini round up of our favourites. First to earn a mention is Chi Chi Studio's hand painted chest of drawers. Her delicate bird and branch motif has transformed a boring piece of furniture into an unexpected work of art, and we love that blogger Kristin hasn't just gone down the safe route with a solid colour.

Second up, we have a question for you. Have you ever considered wallpapering anything other than a wall? No, us neither. Beautiful prints, interesting textures and a wonderfully quirky concept put Bryonie Porter's wallpapered furniture firmly on the list.

Finally, because we love a good tutorial, is interiors blog Twice Lovely. The blog is filled with furniture upcycling ideas, but our favourite is this on-trend chevron print chest of drawers DIY, which uses masking tape for a quick and easy stencilling effect.

You may have noticed that another chest of drawers has sneaked its way into this post. This is another of Ann Marie's ideas, and we've included it as proof that transforming an old dresser can be as straightforward as adding a lick of paint and some beautiful new handles. Sometimes, simple really is best.

Show your photos some love

Are any of our readers budding photographers? We found this fab heart bokeh tutorial which we can't wait try out. For those of you with a confused look on their faces right now, the term bokeh refers to the quality of the areas of a photo which are not in focus.

Rebekah from A Little Bit of Sunshine has a heart bokeh filter to create a background of delicate hearts in her photographs. The best bit of this tutorial is that all you need is some black card and tape, and you can use any shape you want (we're leaning towards stars, if you're interested). Pop over to A Little Bit of Sunshine to find out exactly how to make your own.

Get out and about this summer

Hannah and Rebecca love the UK, 'even when it rains'. They love the UK so much they've set up This Is Your Kingdom to celebrate the best of British.

The idea behind the site is that locals from all over the country share their favourite things to do in their area. Found a charming little coffee shop that's tucked away off the high street? Stumbled upon a beautiful view while out and about in the countryside? Buy all your favourite outfits from an indie boutique that no-one knows about? This is the place to share it!

The website is split into sections for men, women and kids, so there's something for everyone. Pop over to the This Is Your Kingdom website to check out the hidden gems in your area.

Plant a butterfly garden

Not content with producing beautiful stationery and writing a beautiful lifestyle blog, Amanda of Wit & Whistle has come up with a lovely idea to make our gardens more beautiful, too.

Following a bad experience with a vegetable patch (it's reassuring to know that even our favourite bloggers have these kinds of disasters, isn't it?) Amanda decided to take a different tack this year, and is planting her own butterfly garden.

Pop over to the Wit & Whistle blog for advice on caterpillar-friendly plants and how to get started creating a butterfly garden. And keep you fingers crossed for Amanda that she has more luck than she did with her vegetable patch!

Give your house a home sewn touch

Home Sewn Home is making us all nostalgic. Sally Walton has gathered together 20 craft projects that will give our homes a lovely, home-made, vintagey feel.

Tutorials are aimed at beginner to intermediate sewers, but there's also a section of tricks and techniques that make up the basics of sewing. The kind of useful things our our mums tried to teach us as kids before our attention spans were up to it!

Psst ... See those beautiful totes below? They're from Home Sewn Home author Sally Walton's ethical bag company Carry-a-bag, and they're all made from vintage fabrics and printed by hand. Definitely worth a peek!

Wordless Wednesdays ... on the balcony

From I live in Vancouver now.

Vegetable of the month ... cucumber

Maybe it's because we're so used to just bunging them in green salads. Maybe it's because they're simply not that photogenic. Whatever the reason, when we started hunting out cucumber recipes for July's vegetable of the month, we had much more trouble than usual. Thank goodness we persevered, though, because we've turned up some delicious new cucumber recipes for you to get excited about.

Kicking off our round up is this frankly beautiful cucumber salad from Epicurean Mom. Blogger Katie's recipe uses crunchy veggies and a light, zingy dressing, then makes it all a bit special with edible flowers.

Secondly we have tzatziki from Pinch My Salt. We're not sure how to pronounce it and we had to check the spelling twice, but we are very happy eating it. Tangy and creamy, it's the perfect dipping partner for toasted pita bread and mouthwatering spooned over barbecued meat in a Greek-style wrap.

To finish off, we thought we'd share some cucumber drinks with you. For health-conscious readers, check out Cafe Johnsonia's cucumber, melon and kiwi juice recipe. It's blogger Lindsey's favourite drink, and boasts an ingredient list that takes care of all of your five-a-day in one fell swoop. Impressive.

For those of you that are less well behaved, we're also intrigued by Cookie + Kate's cucumber cocktails. Choose between Cucumber Caipiranha and Cucumber Cooler with watermelon (we're aware of the excessive amount of alliteration going on in this last paragraph) for a refreshing end to a summer picnic.

Grab a colour block tote

Okay, confession time. We have a whole pile of 'bag for life' bags tucked at the bottom of our cupboards. We buy them thinking 'what a great idea, I can use this forever'. Next time we go shopping, where's the bag? At home. So we buy a new one. Which isn't planet-friendly at all.

We've decided to take the matter in hand and fashion a new shopping bag that we love so much that there's no way we can forget about it, and this colour block fabric tote from Fellow Fellow (guest posted on Say Yes to Hoboken) will do the trick nicely.

It's not simple, but blogger Claire has provided a really thorough tutorial with so many photos it must be foolproof (right?).  The best bit? It's lovely enough to use as a day bag all summer long!

Liven up your summer with activity jars

School summer holidays are almost upon us, and unless you're super-organised, you'll be worrying about how you're going to keep your kids entertained for six whole weeks. Crafty blogger Merrilee from mer mag has come to the rescue with her simple-but-totally-genius activity jar idea.

Gather the family together for a massive brainstorm and scribble down your ideas of all the things you'd like to do. Merrilee has split her ideas into things to craft, things to cook and places to go, which means you can match your activity to what the weather outside is doing. Then, when you find your kids twiddling their thumbs (or writing on the walls, ripping each others' hair out...), crack out your activity jars and pick an idea at random.

If you're stuck for ideas, check out Pinterest for inspiration - the simple things' eat and create boards are a fab place to start!

Hunt out some secondhand and vintage

Shopping vintage and secondhand can be hit-and-miss at the best of times. Add an unknown city into the mix and you'll need a whole lot of stamina and more than a little luck to track down something worthwhile.

We're keeping our fingers crossed that these new secondhand and vintage city guides from Vivays are going to change all that. Like a textbook for the vintage-hunter, these guides cover everything from clothing to furniture to books, all organised by type and area.

The London and Berlin vintage guidebooks are already available, and we're already excited about the Paris and New York versions coming out in 2013.